[Zope] Building a site template

[Philip Kilner]

Hi John,

John Poltorak wrote:
> No, I haven't looked at ZPT. I thought I would try to get the hang of DTML 
> first, just so that I can make some progress with ZOPE.
> 

I know you'll hear others say this, but try ZPT if you can - it does my 
head in, and sometimes seems very cryptic, but it better defines where 
design/HTML end and function/Script begins.

> I'm finding it a steep learning curve.
> 

It is, or I find it so - I've been using it for a few years now, but am 
not a Zope developer as such - most of my solutions involve "stringing 
other people's pearls".

How well do you know Python?

>>Then you know about "metal:define-macro", "metal:use-macro",
>>"metal:define-slot" and "metal:fill-slot".
>>
>>With this knowledge, you may have a look at Plone,
>>especially its "main_template.pt".
>>
>>
>>Maybe, you want to use Plone as your starting point altogether?
> 
> 
> I have not installed Plone yet, and don't know much about it or CMF.
> 

Best to get oriented with Zope at this stage - and FWIW DTML is 
deprecated in Plone 2.0 anyway...

> Do they both need to installed or can I install them independently?
> 

Plone sits on CMF, which sits on Zope, which sits on Python.

> I'm getting a little bit saturated with all these new gadgets and find 
> myself being unable to see how everything fits together.
> 

I sympathise - I seem to find the hard things easy (usually because 
there is something I can re-use) and the easy things hard (because I 
really aren't a coder, and some very simple things involve a simple 
"phrase" in Python and I get lost in the syntax.

Plod through he tutorial and try to meddle with the examples installed 
with Zope - and come back and ask here. Zope is a great environment and 
this is a good list - so good that it's sometime hard to remember to 
google first! <grin>

-- 

Regards,

PhilK

Email: phil at xfr.co.uk / Voicemail & Facsimile: 07092 070518

  “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation
of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control
the people who must use the words.” Philip K. Dick